Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, often called the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. They are a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The first one was in 1968. For 30 years, from 1988 to 2018, it was called Secretary of State for Health. Before 1988 the department was the Department of Health and Social Security.

Since devolution in 1999, the responsibility for the NHS is mostly the health service in England, with the ministers in Scotland and Wales responsible for the NHS in Scotland and Wales.

The current health secretary is Victoria Atkins who was appointed by Rishi Sunak on 13 November 2023.